WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri Humanities Council (MHC) has awarded a $2,500 grant to Missouri State University-West Plains to support the 10th annual Ozarks Studies Symposium, set for Sept. 23-24 at the West Plains Civic Center.
The MHC is the only statewide agency in Missouri devoted exclusively to humanities education for citizens of all ages. It has served as a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities since 1971.
“The symposium committee greatly values its long-standing partnership with the Missouri Humanities Council,” said Dr. Phil Howerton, professor of English and symposium coordinator. “This is the seventh time MHC has worked with Missouri State University-West Plains to host the symposium, and its continued support has allowed us to consistently attract the most respected scholars in Ozarks studies and to expand the symposium each year.”
“Isolation and Connections” is the general theme of this year’s event, and 23 scholars, writers, artists and musicians are currently on the program. Topics will include prehistoric bluff shelters, the poetry of Miller Williams, communes, paranormal and extraterrestrial activity, historic Monte Ne Resort, the life of Thomas Callahan, Ozark outlaws, combat at Burnett Springs, Hipbillies, the Carnahan political dynasty, the writing of Daniel Woodrell, public land acquisition, Harold Bell Wright, folklore, folk music, Thomas Hart Benton in the Ozarks, and the presentation of original fiction, poetry and music.
The keynote address will be given by Abby Burnett, Kingston, Arkansas, an independent researcher who studies long-lost burial customs, tombstone symbolism, epitaphs and the work of early stone carvers. She has written articles for historical societies and entries for the online Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, and she has been a speaker for the Association for Gravestone Studies and has been featured in AETN’s documentary, “Silent Storytellers.” Her book, Gone to the Grave; Burial Customs of the Arkansas Ozarks, 1850 – 1950, was published by University of Mississippi Press in 2015.
The annual Ozarks Studies Symposium reflects Missouri State-West Plains’ commitment to serve as a link between the predominantly rural region it serves and the world of higher education and scholarship, facilitating communication between these two communities and fostering a mutually beneficial relationship between them, Howerton explained.
For more information about the symposium, visit the website. For more information about the MHC grants program, call 314-781-9660 or 1-800-357-0909, or write to the MHC, 543 Hanley Industrial Court, Suite 205, St. Louis, MO 63144-1905.